Hands-On Onboarding, Zero Disruption: A Convenience Store Chain's Switch to Umbrava

How a 35-location convenience store chain went from an outdated CMMS to 3,323 completed work orders in their first three months on Umbrava.

The challenge

This team runs maintenance and facilities across 35 convenience store locations supporting nearly 700 employees. Their help desk is two people. They have about 25 staff at the corporate office, but when it comes to managing work orders, vendors, and day-to-day facility issues, it all runs through that two-person team.

Before Umbrava, they managed work orders through a legacy platform that had been in place for years. Stores would call in issues, and the help desk would enter them manually. They tried to scale by having stores submit their own work orders, but the platform couldn’t keep up. The system was slow, navigation was clunky, and the team was spending more time fighting the tool than using it.

“We outgrew the platform and its capabilities. We needed something faster and more reliable. When we found the Umbrava team, they offered us the communication and support we needed to make the switch.” — Help Desk Manager

Getting started

Once the decision was made, onboarding moved quickly. The Umbrava team handled data migration in structured sessions, reviewing what had been submitted at each meeting and setting clear goals for the next one. When information was missing, they filled in the gaps themselves, tracking down phone numbers and addresses the team hadn’t gotten to yet.

The client requested additional training sessions beyond the standard onboarding plan, and the Umbrava team scheduled them without hesitation. The process stayed on track because both sides kept to their timelines.

“To keep your onboarding on schedule, it is very important that you provide the requested information timely and accurately. A lot of the process is reliant on that. But the team was so quick to jump in and take over if we needed a hand.” — Help Desk Manager

That level of hands-on support continued well past go-live. For a two-person help desk taking on a new platform while keeping 35 locations running, having a dedicated onboarding lead who stayed engaged made the difference between a smooth transition and a disruptive one.

Our onboarding lead was extremely supportive during onboarding, prepared to answer or assist with anything. He still is a huge help as we come across things we aren’t used to within the platform. He’s always quick to carve out time for us if we need it.

— Help Desk Manager

What changed

The first thing the team noticed was speed. The platform loads faster, searches return results faster, and navigation doesn’t slow them down the way it used to. Those seconds add up across every work order, every day.

But the more significant shift was in how the team communicates with their vendors. Before Umbrava, getting updates on repairs, parts, and timelines meant phone calls and emails that were hard to track and easy to lose. Now, all of that communication lives inside the work order itself. The help desk stopped chasing updates and started managing the work.

“Our vendors have not been used to communicating very well with us on repairs, parts needed, things like that. This has been a great tool for us to keep all communication in one place.” — Help Desk Manager

Three months in, the results back that up: 3,323 completed work orders, a 7.9-day average completion time, and a 94.4% first trip resolution rate. The platform didn’t just replace the old system. It changed how the team operates.

The learning curve was minimal. The client described the platform as user-friendly from the start, with comfort growing the more the team used it. Nothing required them to pause operations or work around the system while they figured it out.

“Any new platform can be a bit of a challenge at first, but this was very user-friendly. The more we used it, the easier it got. There was a little learning curve, but nothing that made us have to halt processes.” — Help Desk Manager

What’s next

The team is still finding new ways to use the platform as they get more comfortable with it. Their onboarding lead remains their primary point of contact and continues to support them as new needs come up.

What stood out most in this client’s experience wasn’t just the onboarding process or the platform itself. It was knowing that Umbrava would keep adapting alongside their business.

With our business ever-changing, it is a relief to know we have a platform that is willing to grow and change along with us. If we require a certain functionality, Umbrava will do whatever they can to implement that or set a plan to make it happen in the future.

— Help Desk Manager